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Kael leaned forward, curious. “What have you learned?”
“I’ve found some new texts regarding the rise of the Carxidor line.” Oz said eagerly, “It happened at the end of the Godsfall, and isn’t well known, which is strange.”
“The Carxidors?” Kael asks, glancing at me and I scowled. I didn’t like being reminded of my heritage. I’d rather only be an Axidor, with no connection to the throne.
Theron nodded. “Tiordan Carxidor is known as the ‘Lightcursed’ and was the creator of the Empire as we know it.”
Zora shuddered. “Sounds like a charming fellow.”
Oz continued. “Tiordan was the general under King Eiran Daelor. Eiran was a Sálfar who was a favorite of Atar and after what Kearis did—“
Kael interrupted, her expression rapt. “What did he do?”
“Well,” Oz leaned back and closed his book, getting comfortable. He was in his element. Talking about his current project was a sure way to get him to stop reading. “There are conflicting accounts. One said the shattered union between Vetia and Sithos created the rift. Another contended that it was Atar’s natural pride that caused it.”
“That I believe,” Kael mumbled under her breath and Zora gave her a confused smile. Gods, what was she doing here? My cousin was too sheltered for Adraedor. Living in the country was a gift and a curse. They avoided most of Varzorn’s ire, but being here amongst the court only put targets on their backs.
“But apparently,” he continued. “It was something else. Kearis wanted to follow Ydonja to the stars, but every time he tried, the atmosphere would burn his wings and he’d be forced back to the ground. He asked Atar for help. To craft him armor that would allow to him cross the barrier, but Atar refused.” He paused, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt. “It’s unsure why. Whether it was fear for Kearis’ safety, respect for Ydonja, or plain hubris believing as the firstborn that he could choose for him. But Atar refused, and the feud began, with the Kyrie and the Elves going to war.”
“In Adraedor?” Kael asked, and he nodded.
“Though it wasn’t called Adraedor yet. Tiordan’s son renamed it for his wife Adra.”
“Fascinating,” Zora said, shooting me a mischievous grin that Oz missed as his head bobbed with enthusiasm.
“Isn’t it?” He said earnestly. “Eiran convinced Atar to give him a weapon that would allow them to kill Kearis and end the war,” Oz explained. “They named the sword ‘Endbringer,’ after Atar fashioned it from his own bones to make it strong enough to defeat the other gods. The chains used to bind the gods were made from metal strengthened by his blood.”
Guilt filled me again for losing one of my family’s swords. It was an honor to carry a weapon like that. One that the bastard didn’t deserve. Striker would pay for it if it was the last thing I did in this Atar-forsaken desert.
“According to these texts, Eiran told the humans that Atar would make them Elves if they helped take down his enemies. He used them as his fodder to attack and overwhelm the other god’s peoples as they tried to defend their gods. They killed Kearis first for his slight against Atar, followed by Cetena, then Sithos and Rhaedos.”
“But the humans realized they didn’t want to rely on a promise from Atar to change them,” Oz continued. “Instead, they saw how they might take power by creating an equal playing field since with each god they slaughtered, that god’s people lost their magic and immortality. The humans stole Endbringer and murdered Vetia, Atar’s daughter.”
I whistled low in disbelief. “Imagine humans killing a goddess of fire by themselves. Incredible.”
“Why?” Kael glared at me. “Because Elves are so superior?”
“Yes?” My brows drew up. She couldn’t be serious. Humans didn’t have the same strength or magic. It was an unimaginable feat and one I’d like to study. The tactics they’d used had to be incredible...
Oz glanced between us and ignored the tension in favor of his story. “Eiran took revenge on the humans, killing them, and thought the situation was finished. But with Endbringer unable to be destroyed, the risk of someone stealing it and murdering Atar was too great. The Elves would lose their immortality. That’s when Tiordan Carxidor came in.”
Kael leaned back, not noticing as I toyed with her hair once more. “And then what happened?”
“The histories get muddled,” Oz admits. “Tiordan killed Eiran and ordered the deaths of all the Sálfar, but it’s unclear why. Then Atar disappeared, and the Svartál slayed the last goddess, Thanja.”
Zora whistles. “Sounds like a real mess.”
“It was,” Oz agreed. “And it’s still affecting us to this day. Tiordan is called the ‘Lightcursed’ because, after his attack on the Sálfar, we lost the ability to use the celestial metals.”
I nodded. This I knew. It was one reason the Carxidor line was so unpopular. Well, that and our penchant to torture and destroy anyone standing in the way of our ambition.
Kael went still. “What about Xadrian? Was that the magic he used in his bout?” Her voice was nonchalant, but I couldn’t help the surge of jealousy that rose in me. Xadrian? They were on a first-name basis? She could act as unaffected as she wanted, but I could see through it. The need to dominate her, to fuck her until she broke apart with pleasure so intense that she never looked at another man shook me and my hand tightened in her hair.
Oz nodded, oblivious to my reaction. “Yes, Xadrian can use Earthborn metals, as well as some Celestial metals from before the curse. His family has primarily Svartál ancestors, but his Sálfar heritage showed up stronger in him than his siblings.”
“We have Sálfar ancestors as well,” Zora put in. “Eiran’s son Callyx was our Great-Great Grandfather.”
“You’re missing a great.” Oz pointed out, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
